Hannah Strauss, visiting scholar at Ecologic Institute, together with other experts on the Arctic and H.E. Danish Ambassador Per Poulsen-Hansen, discussed Europe's impact on and interest in a "New North". The panel discussion was preceded by a presentation of Matthias Hannemann’s recent book, "Der Neue Norden. Die Arktis und der Traum vom Aufbruch", and focused on various aspects related to the political and economic development of the Arctic region.

<p>The goal of this project was to examine the 27 National Reform Programmes prepared by the Member States as part of the implementation of the Europe 2020 Strategy and in preparation of the first European Semester. The Committee of the Regions was conducting this analysis together with Ecologic Institute and its partners WU/RIMAS, ICLEI and PSI to examine to what extent the NRPs reflect the roles, inputs, and needs of local and regional authorities. The project report "The Role of Local and Regional Authorities in the Europe 2020 National Reform Programmes" is available for download.</p>&#13;

Using a case study approach, selected policies have been reviewed in specific countries in the Mediterranean, Middle East and Sahel region region; case studies of individual strategies and initiatives were also conducted at the United Nations and European Union level. As the case studies have shown, very few policies today explicitly address the link between climate change, water, human security and conflict or cooperation. Of the few policies that explicitly address the link, most are located at the international level. However, at the national level, some adaptation and sectoral policies do address risks for human security linked to water and climate change in more indirect manners, such as water user associations in Egypt or an agricultural insurance scheme in Turkey.

Kampman, Bettina; Huib van Essen; Willem Braat et. al. 2011: Impact analysis for market uptake scenarios and policy implications. Impacts of Electric Vehicles – Deliverable 5. Ecologic Institute/ICF/CE Delft, Delft.

Grünig; Max; Marc Witte; Dominic Marcellino et. al. 2011: An Overview of Electric Vehicles on the Market and in Development. Impacts of Electric Vehicles – Deliverable 1. Ecologic Institute/CE Delft, Delft.

Duleep, Gopalakrishnan; Huib van Essen; Bettina Kampman et. al. 2011: Assessment of Electric Vehicle and Battery Technology. Impacts of Electric Vehicles – Deliverable 2. ICF/CE Delft/Ecologic Institute, Delft.

Grünig; Max; Marc Witte; Benjamin Boteler et. al. 2011: Assessment of the Future Electricity Sector. Impacts of Electric Vehicles – Deliverable 3. Ecologic Institute/ICF/CE Delft, Delft.

Dominic Marcellino, Fellow Ecologic Institute Washington, and Max Grünig, Fellow Ecologic Institute Berlin, published an article on cost recovery in line with the EU Water Framework Directive and related experiences in Germany. The text appeared in the March/April special edition of L’Acqua, an Italian journal for water issues. The paper builds off previous work done for the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

<p>&#13; At the conference on "Water and Climate Change in the MENA-Region", organised by GIZ and BMZ, Rodrigo Vidaurre, Researcher at Ecologic Institute, held a presentation on policies that address the link between human security, water conflicts, and Climate Change. Jennifer Möller-Gulland, Researcher at Ecologic Institute, held a further presentation on innovative benefit assessment methodologies to assess quantitative and monetary benefits from improved water resources use.</p>&#13;

<p>&#13; At an Ecoscholars event hosted by First Solar, GmbH, David Wortmann, the company's Vice President of Policy and Public Affairs provided an overview of the company and discussed the key role of policy in the continued promotion and expansion of the renewable energy industry and fostering the market for renewable energy technologies.  The dialogue was initiated by Loni Gardner of Ecologic Institute, who coordinates Ecoscholars.  Ecoscholars is a discussion and networking group for Berlin-based international scholars and experts who are involved in climate change, energy, sustainability, and other environmental topics.</p>&#13;

<p>Responses to soil erosion in agricultural areas in China as well as the exchange of experiences as regards good practice in the EU in soil conservation management and monitoring were among the subjects of the first plenary meeting of the FP7-project LEDDRA. The meeting took place in Yichang (China) from 27 to 30 April 2011 and was organised by the Changjing River Scientific Research Institute (CRSRI). Ruta Landgrebe and Sandra Naumann participated as representatives of Ecologic Institute.</p>&#13;